monique123

I'm going with my family to London and Paris in April. When I arrive in Paris via the Eurostar, at Gare du Nord, I will be immediately taking off to the Loire Valley for 5 days, then return to Paris for a one week stay. I had checked out car rental prices both in Paris and Amboise, and they appeared to be the exact same. I've read about horrible traffic in Paris, but would I really need to go into the city to get from Gare du Nord to the Loire. Would it be worth saving the cost of 4 TGV tickets from Paris to Amboise to drive the same distance. Should I rent from another Paris location that would take me through less traffic? We're going to be traveling pretty light, so lugging baggage wouldn't be a major problem. Please advise.

nytraveler

The key to Paris traffic is to avoid it. The best choice is to find a car rental office right near the Peripherique (ring road) so you don;t have to navigate center city traffic - but can just circle as needed and head directly out of town. I would pick a rental office as near the Peri as possible - and take a cab there from the train station.

Patrick

Montparnasse train station has numerous car rentals and it is very easy to get to and then drive from.

Christina

I think MOntparnasse is a good idea for a rental location. Actually, that's where the trains leave for Tours, anyway, so that's where you would have to go from Gare du Nord in either case.

Gare du Nord is on the opposite side of Paris, but no, you would not have to go through the center of Paris if you really didn't want to. You could just go north a bit to the peripherique (the big highway around the city) and take that around to the SW or western side where the road would come in to go to Tours.

Intrepid1

Why don;t you simply go from Gare du Nord to Austerlitz which isn't very far away and take a train directly to Amboise? OK, it is a little slower than taking the TGV to Tours but since car rental prices are the same why are you hassling yourself with Paris traffic AT ALL????

RonZ

If you are going to drive out of the city, there are better starting places going south. However, since you are already at the Gare du Nord, it is better to rent there. It is a straight shot north to the Peripherique, where you will enter at the Porte de la Chapelle and head east. Driving directions from www.mappy.com will display the road signs to look for. Where it says street, enter Porte de la Chapelle, not Gare du Nord.

I would suggest using an agency officed in the station. These are located downstairs on the west side. The cars are right there in the garage.